9 credit hours!?

Everyone I talk  to about grad school seems to be aware that 9 credit hours is an insane amount to be taking on while working full time. Apparently there is a rule (that EVERYONE knew about EXCEPT me) that you shouldn't take on more than 6. I am counting down the days until the end of the semester. I'm tired of being tired.

Although, I have drawn some insightful conclusions from being in grad school:

1) Cataloging is dumb. Whoever wrote the AACR2 should be shot. If you've ever taken a cataloging class, I'm sure you understand.

2) Reference work can be fun!

3) I would love to work at the reference desk of a public library. I never thought I would consider a position outside of a middle school setting

4) There are about a MILLION databases in the world.

5) Grad school takes the life out of social life.

6) Metadata is data about data and its STUPID.

Hopefully I'll actually gain some knowledge from these classes instead of these crude insights. Next semester my position as Drama Director takes affect so I've decided to only take on 3 credit hours. Unfortunately, I will not be able to get my masters in the 2 year time period that I thought I would. Because of this, I am also not guranteed the pay increase that comes with my masters because the deadline is 2013. But of course as the "upper management" would say...I shouldn't want to continue my eduaction for financial incentive, I should always want to be a life-long learner. Well my friends...my increasing student loan debt and this tired teacher says....BULLSHIT.

5K ouchies

Dave and I decided about a month ago that we would sign up for the Immaculate Heart of Mary 5K. MaryAnn planned to walk with us as well. Like an idiot, I didn't train. I had been walking about 3.1 miles (5 KM) all summer, but hadn't been walking since school started. I was not prepared. I started towards the back of the pack because I planned on walking the whole thing. Well, as the 5K progressed a lot of the parish families behind me just went to their house as we passed them instead of actually finishing the race. Well...where does that leave Tricia? Dead last. I told Dave to go ahead because with 1 of his steps equally 2 of mine, sufficed to say I would have held him up. Pain set in about half way through and it made me well up a little bit because I hate that at 25 I get pain from walking 1.5 miles. I don't know if training would have made a difference. I know that my weight is such a huge issue with the strain on my feet and legs, but apparently being flat-footed and pigeon-toed is catching up with me too. With about a 1/4 of the walk left, the mother of geoff and hope's best friend decided to join me because she had stopped at a friend's abotu a quarter a way through the race and wanted to finish. The first thing she said to me was that it pains her to see me walk. It bothered me that other people could see I was in pain. She went on to say that does physical therapy and she thinks she could help me.

 I'm going to get in contact with her, but also need to do a better job of helping myself. I started Zumba at school 2 days a week and my health coach's walking group will start this week. It's days like today where I miss being home. I know Beth and my mom are working at this too and it would make things so much easier to have them as a support too. Face to face that is, I know I have my family's support with everything I do.

Luckily my month of trips is coming up fast! Sept. 10th off to Fairborn for Mike and Katy's wedding. Sept. 17th engagement party at my mom's...I cannot wait! Weekend off and then Sept 31st trip to Chicago to see ENRIQUE!!!!

I'll leave you with that thought...

Yummy...

The journey begins!

I officially started working on my college coursework. I'm so excited about the prospect of having my master's degree in 2 years. It's already been affirmed that I've chosen the right path with library science because I'm seeing so many parallels between teaching and the world of a librarian.


I just began reading Reference and Information Services in the 21st Century (I know..sounds like a real page turner huh?) and there was a whole section about patrons of the library possible asking you what they call a "ready reference question". These can be things like "Who won the 1992 World Series?" or "Who was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence?". As a person your first instinct may be to just tell them, but librarians need to take this as a "teachable moment" and show them how to find the information. Basically the idea of "If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If you show a man how to fish, he eats for a lifetime". This is a concept that as a teacher, I need to keep in mind everyday. For example, students often ask me how to spell a certain word. It's taken practice, but I've finally gotten in the habit of having them use a dictionary instead of simply telling them how to spell a particular word.


I'm so happy that this connection between these two worlds has already been formed. It's going to make my coursework at IUPUI that much more meaningful. Bring on the edu-ma-cation!

Oh the fair...

I had a wonderful time at the fair, mostly because it provided some of the BEST people watching I've done in years! Emily, Dave, and I saw a whole ARRAY of goodies and I'm not just talking about the food. Children on leashes, bizzare tattoos, and some of the best hairstyles I've seen in quite some time were just some of the highlights.


And oh the food...it did not dissappoint. Dave and I left our stomachs empty throughout the day so we could indulge a bit at the fair. Dinner was first and I opted for an oldie but a goodie...the gyro ($8...ouch..and then I paid the extra $1 for the additon of feta. So worth it).


Dave and I then found nirvana off in the distance...the fried treats cart. Dave shrewdly spied a sign that offiered a combo basket of fried treats. Who can go wrong with 2 fried Oreos, a fried Reese's Cup, a fried Snickers, AND fried butter? Nobody..that's who. Conclusions drawn from my fried adventure? Fried oreo..delightful, not too rich. The Reese's Cup...too much sweetness..the peanut butter put it over the top. The Snickers....melted carmel and chocolate mixed with peanuts...delightful..but one bite was enough. The fried butter...although sounds disgusting was great! They actually added cinnamon sugar to the butter so you aren't just eating fried dough with butter in the middle. They added a sweet element and it reminded me of a churro...yum.


We finished the night off with a fair treat that can never be missed...the elephant ear.


Overall, it was a great experience at the fair. Although, shortly after we were home, it seems my body decided to punish me for all the artery-clogging I did that night. I came down with a horrible cold that 4 days laters I'm just starting to get over.


Looking forward to the weekend...Emily's birthday/I bought a new house party!

A Newbie!

Blogging, writing, spending time with me has been on my mind a lot lately with school starting up again.

It's a constant throughout my day to encourage my students to write. What kind of hypocrite am I if I'm not spending time writing each day? Not to say that this is going to be a daily routine, but it's certainly a start and better than the non-existent routine I've had prior to this point.

I had a professor at Butler who was admant about spending time with youself and writing at least 20 minutes each day.

What could it hurt? It's time to let it all out, share my thoughts, and let the world know just exactly what is going on in this average-sized head of mine :)

I've always been hesistant to share my thoughts via the internet because I never considered myself a clever or well-versed writer. Writing has never been my strong suit (says the English teacher...oi vey). We'll consider this practice!

Off to the state fair tonight (a first timer to the Indiana version!). Never was a state fair goer in Illinois considering it was almost 4 hours away in Springfield. Certainly will be an interesting experience. I hope to share pictures later (assuming I can figure out exactly how to do that).

Hey look! I figured it out!